Stories

Furniture makers in the district of Jepara in Central Java, Indonesia, have joined forces to create an association that has boosted incomes and helped secure the country’s first legal timber certification, opening an export corridor into Europe.

Next month, the Indonesian government will have fully phased in legislation requiring all furniture companies exporting to the European market prove sourcing of legally harvested timber.

Intiyah is nobody’s idea of a shrinking lily. At age 33, she runs a freelance wood carving business out of her house while raising her daughter. Yet, here she is, rigid with embarrassment from her new-found literary celebrity, at a book signing of Pelangi di Tanah Kartini in the Central Javanese town of Jepara. She blushes and giggles like the high school girl she never had a chance to be.

Intiyah is nobody’s idea of a shrinking lily. At age 33, she runs a freelance wood carving business out of her house while raising her daughter. Yet, here she is, rigid with embarrassment from her new-found literary celebrity, at a book signing of Pelangi di Tanah Kartini in the Central Javanese town of Jepara. She blushes and giggles like the high school girl she never had a chance to be.

Intiyah is nobody’s idea of a shrinking lily. At age 33, she runs a freelance wood carving business out of her house while raising her daughter. Yet, here she is, rigid with embarrassment from her new-found literary celebrity, at a book signing of Pelan...

When mortgages in Nevada went sour in 2008, no one expected it to set off a financial downward spiral that would affect industries as far away as Jepara, Central Java. In a recent economic analysis, CIFOR scientists detail just how every level of this exp...

The Jepara Small Scale Furniture Producers Association (APKJ) exhibited at CIFOR's annual meeting for the second year running in October 2010. The nascent association is a key partner in CIFOR's Furniture Value Chain project. APKJ practiced their ever-improving exhibiting and marketing skills while FVC project members demonstrated some of the research results and outreach materials produced thus far.

The Jepara Small Scale Furniture Producers Association (APKJ) exhibited at CIFOR's annual meeting for the second year running in October 2010. The nascent association is a key partner in CIFOR's Furniture Value Chain project. APKJ practiced their ever-improving exhibiting and marketing skills while FVC project members demonstrated some of the research results and outreach materials produced thus far.

The Jepara Small Scale Furniture Producers Association (APKJ) exhibited at CIFOR's annual meeting for the second year running in October 2010. The nascent association is a key partner in CIFOR's Furniture Value Chain project. APKJ practiced their ever-imp...

In the central Java district of Jepara, small-scale furniture workshops are a mainstay of the local economy. In recent years, however, furniture makers have been looking at fierce competition on two fronts. Manufacturers in China are underpricing them, and other furniture makers in Java are producing similar items. Almost a fifth of the furniture workshop start-ups in Jepara have failed in the past three years. Since 2008, the Furniture Value Chain project, has supported small-scale manufacturers in their efforts to improve their situation.

In the central Java district of Jepara, small-scale furniture workshops are a mainstay of the local economy. In recent years, however, furniture makers have been looking at fierce competition on two fronts. Manufacturers in China are underpricing them, and other furniture makers in Java are producing similar items. Almost a fifth of the furniture workshop start-ups in Jepara have failed in the past three years. Since 2008, the Furniture Value Chain project, has supported small-scale manufacturers in their efforts to improve their situation.

In the central Java district of Jepara, small-scale furniture workshops are a mainstay of the local economy. In recent years, however, furniture makers have been looking at fierce competition on two fronts. Manufacturers in China are underpricing them, an...

In Indonesia's Jepara District in Java, wood furniture workshops employ around 170,000 people. This is big business, with exports amounting to US$150 million a year. But all is not well. Small-scale producers get a meagre slice of the profits, and many live in poverty. A research project managed by CIFOR is shedding new light on the workings of the furniture industry, and helping to enhance the efficiency, and incomes, of small-scale producers.

In Indonesia's Jepara District in Java, wood furniture workshops employ around 170,000 people. This is big business, with exports amounting to US$150 million a year. But all is not well. Small-scale producers get a meagre slice of the profits, and many live in poverty. A research project managed by CIFOR is shedding new light on the workings of the furniture industry, and helping to enhance the efficiency, and incomes, of small-scale producers.

In Indonesia's Jepara District in Java, wood furniture workshops employ around 170,000 people. This is big business, with exports amounting to US$150 million a year. But all is not well. Small-scale producers get a meagre slice of the profits, and many li...